know more. this morning on world news now, confronting terror. the takedown in europe involving belgium police and terrorists who just returned from syria. certain suspects immediately opened fire with automatic weapons at special forces of the police. gunfire and fear in the streets and concerns the crackdown is not over. homegrown radical. the fbi sting operation never seen before targeting a wannabe terrorist. it is an abc news exclusive. i m going to put everything on my body. like a real place. maybe the capitol. as details emerge about the foiled terror plot in washington. later, superstar snubs. the oscar nominations and who did not get named. the controversy outrage and
don t appreciate him being painted as a terrorist. reporter: but fbi officials who acknowledge they ran a sting on christopher cornell say his plans involved not only detonating bombs at the capitol but then mowing down members of congress with assault rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition he purchased at a gun store moments before his arrest. cornell s parents said the boy was just trying to figure himself out, described as a quiet student who converted to islam last summer. that s when he first appeared on fbi radar after they say he pledged his support to isis on social media under an assumed name. officials believe cornell was the classic lone wolf, but the fbi does believe he was trying to communicate with radicals overseas. although in the end, no one from overseas apparently had anything to do with this. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. the second phase of jury selection is now underway in the
of guests suffering from flu-like is symptoms as they look for a cause and trying to stop it from spreading. opryland is taking it seriously and following the strict standards of sanitation. time for your friday forecast now. first of two major storms bringing heavy snow and rain. 70 mile an hour winds across montana today. lake-effect snow showers around the great lakes. milder in the middle of the country. 50s and 60s denver to atlanta. 70s los angeles and miami. 40s in salt lake city and washington, d.c. 30s in boston and new york. 20s from minneapolis to detroit. how about some furniture and football fun? art van furniture stores in chicago area are expecting big crowds tomorrow when customers can buy furniture with the possibility of getting it for free. the store will give them full refunds if it snows at least three inches in the windy city on super bowl sunday. it seems i don t know. but another promotion in ohio the dealer offering full refunds ohio state won the natio
reporter: not impressed el-khalifi wants a bigger bomb. this is not strong enough, man. reporter: amine el-khalifi was a moroccan national living outside of washington, d.c. when the sting operation took place in 2012. he hardly seemed the terrorist type, known on the party scene working as a local deejay but would he have really done it? critics would say it is entrapment. at the end of the day all we can say is watch that tape. he was arrested two blocks from the u.s. capitol on february 17, 2012. he had a machine gun and attempting to put on what he thought was a suicide vest. he pled guilty and is serving 30 years in jail. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. other european countries are on edge after last week s terrorist attacks in paris. belgium police were met by gun fire while executing a search warrant in a small town. when it was over, two suspects were dead and a third wounded and under arrest. no police injured. the belgium investigation began before the atta
i am going to put everything on my body and go inside like a real place, maybe capitol. reporter: amine el-khalifi, was arrested two blocks from the u.s. capitol on february 17th, 2012. he had a machine gun and was attempting to put on what he thought was a suicide vest. he pled guilty and is serving 30 years in prison. karen travers, abc news, washington. new overnight, u.s. troops are heading to the middle east to help the syrian opposition the 400 personnel will train the moderate forces. the mission will begin in early spring and will be based in saudi arabia, turkey and qatar. hundreds of additional support personnel are likely. coalition partners are expected to contribute forces to the training program. the u.s. freed five suspected al qaeda fighters. the five men at been at guantanamo military prison in cuba for at least a dozen years. they are down to 122 prisoners at guantanamo bay now. the obama administration wants